Friday 31 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 31


Day 31 - The Last Day
Halloween Costume Reveal

The last day of blogtober14 is upon us. I've blogged every single day without missing any out, and I've discovered several new blogs through the link up. Hello! 

I love Halloween. I love dressing up and seeing everyone's creative ideas! 

Now, regarding this prompt. I'm not actually dressing up until tomorrow (shock horror!!) So I will post a picture of my outfit then! I can tell you that it is predominantly black, and I plan for it to look awesome. I hope you, reader, will stop by to see it! 

The final link up:

Thursday 30 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 30

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 30 - The Penultimate One!
Facts About Me

I'm not really sure if the prompt means 30 facts about me, or just a random amount of facts about me...


  1.  I am female (duh)
  2. I am 5 foot 4 inches tall
  3. I live in England
  4. I live in my family home, with the parentals
  5. I have a sister
  6. I also have a brother
  7. I have a lovely boyfriend - Andrew
  8. I love musical theatre
  9. I play the clarinet (haven't played in ages but still...)
  10. I hate tinned tuna/tuna pasta/tuna in general
  11. I dye my hair a lot - I dyed it ginger on Monday
  12. I love reading
  13. I really enjoy cake
  14. I love messing around and trying new things with makeup
  15. I rarely brush my hair
  16. I currently share a room with my sister
  17. I am 22 years old
  18. I am a bit of a gamer
  19. I had never driven on a motorway before until Sunday 26th October (I passed in July) when I drove on 3 motorways to drop off ma and pa at the airport
  20. Mine and Andrews anniversary is on my birthday, which is also 2 days before valentines day
  21. This coming February (2015) will mark our 6 year anniversary
  22. I commute to London every weekday
  23. I really love biscuits, especially custard creams
  24. I auditioned for drama schools, but ended up doing a completely different-but related-course at uni
  25. My car's name is Tallulah
  26. I'm kind of allergic to Kiwi - the past 2 times I've had it I ended up vomiting horribly
  27. I'm also allergic to penicillin
  28. I have asthma, but only a very mild case. (I may have grown out of it by now)
  29. I have climbed a mountain - Ben Nevis. Didn't get to the top because of the weather conditions
  30.  I've never broken a bone (except perhaps a toe without realising!)
Boom! Made it to 30. Now you all know me a little better! 
Thanks for reading if you made it this far ;)

link ups are below:

Wednesday 29 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 29

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 29
Most Embarrassing Moment

Oh gosh I don't know...there have been a few.

At one of my cousins weddings a few years ago (I must have been about 13 ish) I was asked to read something during the service. I hadn't been to any sort of rehearsal, I was literally asked on the day to read. I agreed, and was instructed to go up at the same time as the two bridesmaids.

I was nervous, and I saw the bridesmaids get up. So I got up and walked up the aisle to join them. The Father doing the service gave me a bit of an odd look, and I couldn't work out why. Then I heard my Great Aunt calling my name, and waving me back to the pews.

Oh.

 It dawned on me that I must have done something wrong, so I scurried over and sat next to my Great Aunt. Turns out I went up at the complete wrong time.

Kill me now.

I was dying of embarrassment, I felt like I had ruined the wedding by getting it wrong. I got so upset with myself that I was crying for the rest of the wedding, and wasn't able to read the passage. I had to pass it onto another of my cousins.


I think this is one of the most acute cases of embarrassment I've ever experienced. It still fills me with shame and dread even now. I am in shock that I'm actually going to post this...



Link ups here:
heleneinbetween.com

Tuesday 28 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 28

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 28
Things I'm Superstitious About

This isn't really something that I think about, my superstitions are just a part of life so don't require any deep thought into why or what they are! I've listed below the ones that I can think of...

  1. Magpies - the ol' One for sorrow, Two for joy rhyme. I always look for a second Magpie if I see one.
  2. Walking on three drains is bad luck - I used to think this but as I've gotten older I don't mind walking on 3 drains so much. 
  3. Step on a crack, break your mums back-another from when I was younger. I didn't follow this to the letter, it was more that if I stepped on a crack something bad would happen.
  4. To make a happy marriage, the bride must wear something old, new, borrowed and something blue. I view this as more of a tradition than a superstition...though I suppose it counts!
  5. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Well, logically if you eat fruit everyday you are likely to be healthier
  6. Our fate it written in the stars - in my mind this pertains to horoscopes. I do think that these can be accurate, but there is a lot of made up stuff out there too.
That'll do from me! 

Link ups:

Monday 27 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 27

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 27
A Letter To My Younger Self

Dear 17 year old me,

5 years have passed, You're 22 now and you are out of education, and working full time. That feels weird when it happens. College and uni are tha places you learn about who you are and what kind of a person you are, and want to be. In particular, this will happen at uni. Your friends will help shape you into the person you are today.

You know the guy you've been dating for 8 months? Well, you're still together now after almost 6 years. You make it through being at seperate universities despite people saying you won't make it. You both prove them wrong.

You'll meet someone at uni that you instantly take a liking to. She moves into your second year house and you become really close. After uni you stay in touch and see each other at least once a month. She will be a friend for life.

The next 5 years will be some of the best times of your life, enjoy them.

Love,

22 year old me


Heleneinbetween.com

Sunday 26 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 26

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 26
Who'd Play me In a Movie

I never know who to pick on things like this, so I asked Sisterbell what she thought...


She replied "Zooey Dechanel because she plays weird clumsy characters" 

thank you, sis. 

I have been told I look like Maggie Gyllenhaal (back when I had brown curly hair) and I have also been told I look like Scarlett Johanson. I don't see it personally but Andrew is admant...

Okay maybe a bit on this one, but only at certain face angles! (and when I was thinner in the face!)


This one I really can't see. But still, an actress playing me in a film doesn't HAVE to look like me! 


Happy lazy Sunday!


P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD


Saturday 25 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 25

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 25!
Favourite Book

...

I can't...

This is too hard.

I'll list some of my faves instead! 

  1. Harry Potter (the whole series - AS IF you could pick just one?!) J K Rowling
  2. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
  3. Matched series - Ally Condie
  4. A Song of Ice and Fire Series (Game of Thrones) - George R R Martin
  5. Dark Carpathian series - Christine Feehan
  6. The Black Dagger Brotherhood series - J R Ward
  7. Divergent Series - Veronica Roth
  8. Sookie Stackhouse Series - Charlaine Harris
  9. Crossfire Series - Sylvia Day
  10. Beautiful Creatures - Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
  11. The Mortal Instruments - Cassandra Clare
  12. The Woodcutter - Kate Danley
  13. The Casual Vacancy - J K Rowling
  14. Witch Child & Sorceress - Celia Rees
  15. House of Night Series - P.C. and Kristen Cast
  16. Dark Hunter Series - Sherrilyn Kenyon
  17. Night Huntress Series - Jeaniene Frost
There are so many more that I love, but I need to stop or I could go on forever...

I like this prompt because I can find some great book recommendations!! 

Friday 24 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 24

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 24
One Beauty Product I Can't Live Without

I don't actually use many beauty products. Or any, most of the time. Except of course the usual deodorant, shampoo, etc.

Having said that, on the rare occasion I do actually bother to wear makeup I will always reach for my eyeliner. Every time. I never make up my face without it!

At the moment my favorite eyeliner is Maybelline New York's Lasting Drama Black Shock gel eyeliner. I love it, it takes some getting used to when first applying it, but once I got used to it, it applied really easily, evenly and has amazing staying power! Definitely a recommended product!


I'm really glad I picked this one up!

Looking forward to reading everyone else's posts!

Link ups here

One Lovely Blog Award


So...This happened! 

The sweetie pie Charlotte from ALoveTriangle left me a surprise in my comments - she nominated me for the One Lovely Blog Award - my first ever blog award!
I am really grateful to Charlotte for this, so thank you very much Miss Smart :D 

*EDIT* I have also been nominated for this award by Simoné from Our Flavourful Life ! Thank you to Simoné for thinking of me when picking your nominees! It was a great surprise to see this in my comments :) 


Okay, so the rules are below...


You must:
  • Thank the person who nominated you for the award.
  • Add the Lovely blog award logo onto your post/ blog.
  • Share 7 facts about yourself.
  • Nominate 15 bloggers you admire/ read and inform nominees by commenting on their blog.

Alright, so 7 facts about me:
  1. I have major passion for musical theatre
  2. I adore reading and getting lost in the stories
  3. I would sometimes pretend to be a dragon when I was a child
  4. I have a love for cheese
  5. My weight makes me unhappy, but I'm too lazy to change it
  6. I actually have two blogs, this one, and a health & fitness blog
  7. I really enjoy having me time by doing nothing and binge watching netflix!

Nomination time! 15 Bloggers that I admire...

I nominated you all because I read your blog, and admire your writing. Now it's your turn to nominate! Spread some love.

Yay! Thanks again Charlotte and Simoné :)

Thursday 23 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 23

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 23
Favourite Instagram Editing Apps/Editing Tools For My Blog

I love to use PicMonkey to edit pictures for my blog. It's easy, online, and free!

For my parents silver anniversary, I found an old pic of them together, but the quality was not great. I used Picmonkey to edit it and improve the image, it worked a treat and the image is in the living room in a silver frame as we speak.


For instagram, I tend to use the filters that are on instagram (if I use them at all) or I use the editing tools on my phone before uploading. A bit of a boring barry on this one, but I don't often have time to mess about with editing pictures - as much as I would like to. 



Apologies for the slightly uneventful post, buuuut I can't help not having much to say about this prompt! 

Wednesday 22 October 2014

#BLOGOTBER14 - Day 22

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 22
My Pet Peeves

I have a few pet peeves, some only annoy me sometimes, others annoy me every time!

  1. Picking your nose in public. Yes, you on the train, EVERYONE CAN SEE YOU
  2. Tapping. I don't mind this all the time, but sometimes it's just plain irritating!
  3. Listening to music so loud you are broadcasting it to the whole bus/train/room.
  4. Moving my stuff. Yes sometimes I'm messy, but you had better be prepared for a tantrum if you move any of my stuff...
  5. Polystyrene. Just no. Don't come near me with that stuff. Ever.
I think that's all for now...though I'll undoubtedly think of more as I read other #Blogtober14 posts!


Tomorrow:
Favourite Instagram Eiting Apps/Editing Tools For My Blog

Tuesday 21 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 21

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 21 - Dream Vacation

I don't even know where to begin with this. There are so many places I want to visit...I'll list a few, and of them would be a dream!

1. Greece. I would love to explore the Greek islands, see the ancient ruins and enjoy the sunshine.

2. Austin, Texas. This one is a little more for Andrew than for me, but there's an amazing underground river that I would love to visit
B E A U-tiful
3. Universal Studios & Disneyland, Orlando, Florida. I have already been here, but I would absolutely love to go again. Despite the awful flights.

4. Canada. Again, another one for Andrew, but also for me becuase after Pip goig and telling me about how amazing it was, I would like to see it for myself.

5. Canary Islands. Hot, Beach, Sun, Sea, Beautiful. Yes please.

6. New York. Just because.

7. Boston. I have family over in boston, and I would like to see Boston.

8. Egypt. I've always wanted to go here, I loved learning about the Egyptians in primary school, and I have wanted to go to Egypt ever since.

9. Amsterdam. Lots to see here too

10. Germany. Loads of history

11. Rome/Venice - rich with history and beautiful places

12. South of France. I am actually going there next year - really looking forward to it!


I could literally wax lyrical about all of the places I want to go, so I think I'd better leave it there!

Where do you dream about going?

Link up here
Heleneinbetween.com 

Monday 20 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 20

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 20
My Biggest Fear

I think my biggest fear - outside of death of family/friends/self - is Jumping or falling off things. I'm not scared of heights per se, just of getting down from them. I can get myself up a ladder/tree, but will always become stuck when it comes to getting back down. 

I was one of those kids who would eagerly scramble up a tree, then would have to be rescued by my dad because I couldn't get back down.

This fear or falling and jumping off things is still something that affects me now - though I don't scramble up trees anymore, so the frequency is lessened. Now it manifests itself into not being able to leapfrog a post because I'm scared of falling on my face. 

Well...there you have it, I'm scared of jumping off things and falling off things.

Tomorrow: Dream Vacation

Sunday 19 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 19

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 19
What Makes Me Happy
In no particular order

Reading
This is what my Kindle looks like on the inside!
Boyfriend

Best Friend


Sister


Close Friends


That's just a few things that sprung to mind. More poeple than things but there we go!

Check back tomorrow for day 20 - My Biggest Fear

Saturday 18 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 18

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 18
Share A Secret About Myself

Well, a not-so-secret secret is my love for Harry Potter books films and the whole shabang. Though I think if you have been reading my blog through Blogtober you may have already picked up on that...

My secret is:

Sometimes I prefer to read over talking or socialising with people. At time I have intentionally avoided people so I can read uninterrupted. This happens more when I'm really into a book. It gets to the point where all I can think about is the story and the characters, and what might happen next.

So, yepp. There are times when I prefer books to people.



Link up here to share your secret:

Friday 17 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 17

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 17

I'm an Expert at...

  1. Harry Potter
  2. Eating
  3. Reading
  4. Complaining
  5. Sulky face
  6. Procrastinating
  7. Making a mess
  8. Being a Big Sister (according to Sisterbell. Awwww)
  9. Listening to peoples problems
  10. Plaiting hair
  11. Being human
  12. Spending money
  13. Hoarding clothes
  14. Binge watching TV series
  15. Taking strange selfies on snapchat

There we go. 15 things I'm an expert at! 
I'm looking forward to reading everyone else's posts!

Thursday 16 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 16

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 16
Fall Fashion

I'm just going to post about my standard fall outfit, bottom to top. Enjoy!

  1. Shoes: In fall I like to grab my boots out of their summer hideaway - you'll find my pink or silver Doc Martens making an appearance
    The pink are exactly the same, but pink. Bought from Amazon £70

These are perfect with some warm thick socks

2. Trousers: Jeans. Skinny or bootleg, whichever fits and is most comfortable!
This fall I am favouring the boot legged jean, not skinny jean pictured. Bought from New Look £14.99
3. Tops: I live in T-shirts at the moment. I like slightly baggy, comfortable t-shirts with something on them. for example, my t-shirt that has chuppachups all over it
Bought from Primark £6.00

4. Jackets: I have a favourite hoodie that I like to wear - it's comfortable, warm and overall full of awesome. My Ravenclaw hoodie purchased at Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour.
Yes, I am a Ravenclaw. Pottermore told me so. Bought from Warner Bros Studio approx £35

5. Scarf: I have a blue infinity scarf with black hearts on it that keeps my neck warm in the cold, but is light enough to not be too encumbering. 
Mine is a lighter blue, with black hearts. Bought from New Look £2.00 on sale
6. Jacket: I have a purple waterproof jacket from mountain warehouse that keeps me dry in the lovely wet weather we have been experiencing! This jacket was the one I bought in March to go up Ben Nevis in. It's been around!
Bought from Mountain Warehouse approx £25 on sale


Put it all together and that's my typical look this season.

I apologies for the lack of links to products on this post, pretty much all of my clothes are quite old or bought on sale and therefore are not easily available anymore. 

Wednesday 15 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 15



Day 15 - half way through!

Favourite Quote and Why


Because Harry Potter.

Joking aside, this is something that is very true and I know I need to remember this. It's important for me to remember that I can be responsible for my own happiness.

There are several quotes that I really like, but the one above was the first that popped up.

Happy Wednesday!

Link up


Tuesday 14 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 14

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 14 - Funniest Childhood Memory

The first thing that pops into my head is one year I had a birthday sleepover with two friends staying over. I must have been 7 or 8 at the time, and my sister was still a baby, around 1 or 2. 

We were sat playing cards, and betting mini eggs and starburst - we split the pack between us, and would put them into the middle. Whomever won the round took the sweets in the middle. I think the game we were playing was 7 card rummy.

Anyway, we were sat playing this game in a circle, and BabySisterbell was sat with us not actually playing but we were including her. As the rounds went on, we started to notice that the sweets and in the middle started to get tiny teethmarks in them, and the mini eggs were cracked and slightly melted. 

As we watched, Sisterbell slowly reached over, picked up a mini egg, bit it, and carefully put it back. We all cracked up and couldn't stop laughing, which only encouraged Sisterbell who started to giggle and did it again. What made it funnier, was that we had been eating them too, not realising that they had already been in someones tiny chops!

It may not seem funny to anyone else, but to us, that night, it was the funniest thing we had ever seen. I still struggle not to laugh out loud when I think about it now, 15 years later.

Thank you blogtober for inspiring me to re-live this memory and chuckle to myself while on the train to work.


Tomorrow: Favourite quote and why

Monday 13 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 13

Helene in Between Blogtober

Favourite Fall Recipe

I don't have a favourite fall recipe per se, but I do have a favourite meal that I love to have when I feel in need of something warm, filling, that's like a hug from the inside.

PASTA BAKE

This amazingly unhealthy meal was an absolute staple through uni! 

Ingredients:

  • Homepride Pasta Bake - Creamy tomato and bacon / Creamy tomato and herb / Cheese and bacon. If you want to be more health conscious/actually put effort in then make the sauce from scratch! I didnt becuase it was my go-to easy no effort meal. This can also be any prand of pasta bake sauce - homepride was jsut my fave!
  • Pasta - pasta shells, twists or pene pasta were all great with this - sometimes I would have a mixture of them.
  • Cheese. A lot of cheese. Mature cheddar!
Method:
  1. Cook the pasta in a pot on the hob until soft and squishy - while you do this you can pre-heat your oven - approx 180 degrees Celsius.
  2. Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water out and put the pasta into your baking dish with your pasta bake sauce.
  3. Fill the jar with water and pour this into your dish - how much water you use in this step depends on how cooked your pasta is (less cooked, use more water/fully cooked, use less water) and also depends on how liquidy you like your bake.
  4. Mix the pasta and sauce with a spoon, and pop into the oven for 20 minutes. During this time, grate your cheese. I always go for a lot of cheese as I am a big cheese fan.
  5. After the 20 mins of baking is up take your pasta bake out, add in half of your cheese and mix this into the pasta. Mixing everything at this stage also assists in getting an even cook throughout the bake.
  6. Put the bake back into the oven for a further 10 minutes
  7. Take the bake out again, mix it, and top it with the rest of your cheese
  8. Back into the oven until the cheese topping is to your liking - for me this is usually another 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and started to brown.
  9. Once it's done, take out of the oven and serve - goes great with a salad! 
Another great thing with this recipe is it cooks several servings - depending on the size of your baking dish of course! The extra portions can be divided up for lunch the next day, dinner later in the week, and frozen for other times!

Super yum - I'm desperately craving this now, especially as I'm under the weather and wanting comfort!


I'm really looking forward to reading everyone else's fall recipes
Link up:

Happy Monday...

Sunday 12 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER - Day 12

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 12
Best Advice I've Ever Been Given

Don't eat yellow snow?
Sorry, that joke was in bad taste... See what I did there?

I genuinely don't know what the best advice I've ever been given is. I guess a lot of the advice I received from my mum growing up was invaluable - if only I had listened at the time...

It's important to listen to advice from others. Especially from someone who has been through whatever it is they are advising you on. On the flip side of that, your decisions on big things should always be what is best for you.

Leading on from that, the best advice I have to give - which I have received in the past - is:

Sometimes you have to be a little bit selfish and think about yourself and what you need.


You can't always live for other people and for making other people happy, it doesn't work. You end up exhausting yourself and having zero energy to give. Occasionally taking that step back and asking yourself 'Actually, is this what's best for me and my needs?' is absolutely necessary.

I have a tendency to go along with whatever other people want, and to let them make decisions. I am working on speaking up and expressing my needs and wants in my relationships. A big part of this is saying no to social events that revolve around food. I am a bit of a food addict, so I really struggle with saying no when there are options to eat the unhealthy foods I love in front of me. And no, it isn't as easy as 'just order a salad/fish/[insert healthy option here]' because that option is not always available. This is an area in which I am trying to improve by following the advice above, and suggesting other things to do instead of going for a meal or having a BBQ.

An example of following this advice, I cancelled plans to see Mandrew this weekend because I'm so ill I can barely move. I haven't been this ill in a while and I hate it! Painful throat & chest & head, and zero energy. It's helping me to stay at home and get better, but also helping him by not subjecting him to my germs.
On the plus side of having this bug, I have plenty of time to blog and read blogs...

Tomorrow's prompt: 
Favourite Fall Recipe

Saturday 11 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 11

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 11 - If I Were President...
I don't really have enough knowledge about American politics to talk about any massive issues...so I'll just jot down some thoughts...

  • I would legalise same sex marriage everywhere. Why shouldn't every person be allowed to marry the person they love? 
  • I would have to learn about American politics! 
  • I would ensure there are healthy living programmes available to everyone, and more education on it in schools
  • I would make Fridays a shorter work day!
  • I would create a couple more national holidays - obligitory days off for everyone!

Not the most exciting of lists, but there we go! 

Tomorrow: Best Advice I've Ever Been Given

Friday 10 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 10

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 10 - a third of the way through! Link up here

I Never Thought Blogging Would...

Become such a huge hobby. 

I mean, really, I plan things around blogging sometimes. I get antsy if I haven't posted in a while, I've put a lot of thought into my blog and what I want to write about.
I feel that I'm only now starting to (sort of) understand how this whole blogging thing works, and it makes me want to delve into it even more and connect with people.



Tomorrows prompt:
If I Was President...

Thursday 9 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 9

Helene in Between Blogtober

Best or Worst Halloween Memory #TBT

I can't pick just one! 
There are so many memories and they've all merged into a mental movie of Trick or Treating, costumes and nights out.

I suppose the first time I went Trick or Treating has to be one of the best ones. I was in Ireland vising family and we went out with our cousins to Trick or Treat. I don't remember much from it, other than getting lots of sweets.

A more recent & better best memory you ask? 

Well, okay. While at university I went on a night out to a halloween dress up night. It was much funsies, and I think it was one of the first times I met Maxx - the dashing other half of Pip. We all had a great night and I got to peel latex off my face when we got back. It looked like skin was hanging off my face!

I worked as a scarer on a scare tour in an old fort for two years running - 2008 and 2009 I think. It was really fun to do, I love to scare people. though it had it's drawbacks - waiting in the freezing cold for the next tour to come through was one of them...

Another would be winning a costume competition in 2012 - it was awesome. I was a killer clown. 



Worst halloween memory has to be not doing ANYTHING for halloween last year. It was dull, I missed out on a great excuse to get dressed up! 

Tomorrows prompt:
I Never Thought Blogging Would...

Wednesday 8 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER - Day 8

Helene in Between Blogtober

Day 8:
A Letter to Myself in 10 Years

Wow. Okay. This could get interesting...or emotional...or both most likely. 

EDIT: I really like this idea, it's not something that came easily to me, but now that I've written this one, I want to write more of them. 


Dear 32 year old Me,

Ten years ago you wrote this letter to yourself on your blog (am I still blogging in 10 years?). I'm trying to think of way to ensure you get this in 10 years, I think I found a website that will do it, who knows if it will actually work... 

How has the past decade been for you? I hope it has been good - it is my future afterall. I can't really fathom being 32, it seems like it's a long way off from now. I imagine a lot would have changed for me by then. I have questions that I wish I could know the answer to, though that wouldn't really be possible. Unless I fall into the Tardis... I've written some of them down.

  • Have I finally moved out? Have I lived in London? Do I travel?
  • Are me and Andrew married? Was the wedding beautiful? Do we have kids? 
  • Where am I working now? What is my career? What am I doing with my life?
  • Did I finally lose weight? Did we get to the goal weight? 
  • Am I happy? 



At the moment I am still living at home with the family, and am commuting into London. I weigh 227 pounds - please tell me that has gone down?? My hair is currently half an inch longer than my collarbone when damp, and is blondish at the bottom, browny-red above that, then au natural at the roots for about 2 inches. I work as a Sales Administrator and have done for just over a year. I have little to no time for seeing people during the week due to getting home so late from work, so I do almost all of my socialising at the weekends with the usual faces - Hux, Kay, Alex, et al. I see Pip and Maxx at least once a month - incidentally what are they doing now? Are we still BFFs? Because we had better be, or you need to pick up the damn phone!  I am probably not as happy as I could be at the moment, but I'm working on it.

I hope that future me is better with managing her finances, and has learned how not to impulse spend. I also hope that future me is happy with the way she looks, no matter what weight. I want to think I will have things figured out, and I will know what direction to steer my life in - maybe by 2024 I've already reached where I want to be. Who knows!  

My expectations for 10 years in the future are as the below:
  • To be married
  • To be thin, maybe not as thin as I want to be now, but in shape and healthy
  • Two children? I'm not sure on this one. I guess this depends a lot on living situation etc
  • I'd like to think I am working in theatre in some way. Or at least doing something I enjoy 
  • I expect to own our own house by the time I'm 32

I'm looking forward to reading this in 10 years and finding out if what I expected came to pass.

My advice for the future me is to remember to be carefree and let your hair down - 22 year old you is still in there somewhere, let her out now and then and dont be so serious! Take the time to look after yourself too, not just everyone else around you.

Maybe writing a letter back to 22 year old me would be a good exercise - and if I'm still blogging I could post it? Just an idea.

More than anything, I hope that I will be happy and content with my life at 32. 

Yours truthfully,

22 year old me

Tuesday 7 October 2014

#BLOGTOBER14 - Day 7

Helene in Between Blogtober

1 week in!

Day 7 - best and worst vacation

Interesting....and also difficult. I can think of quite a few best vacations (such an American word, it's great!) but not many worst ones!

BEST:
After much deliberation, I think my best holiday has to be...

Disneyland and Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida.

First time in the US, everything was so much bigger, Even the pavements! We saw a rocket launch, we saw loads of stuff at the parks, we discovered amazing drinks machines in fast food places, and we got drenched by sprinklers while waiting for a bus! It was an amazing holiday,  with amazing weather. I'd love to go back and do it all again!

WORST :
This is really hard. I don't think I've had a predominantly bad holiday...

I think I'm going to have to go with Orlando again, there were some aspects I Did not enjoy...

The flights.
From here in the uk, it takes 9 hours to fly to Florida. That's a long time to be in an enclosed space. The flight there was a day flight, I felt really naseous because I could smell this weird smell that ended up all over my hands and anything I touched felt oily and a bit sticky. My theory is that this was some sort of cleaning product that had been used to wipe down the tray tables, arms of the chair etc - I had never smelt anything like it before, and it made me feel so sick! I also smelt it at McDonalds in Orlando, which is why I think it's a cleaning product.
The little TVs that play movies on the plane weren't working amazingly, they kept cutting out, but the films would still be playing so you would miss chunks of it. Very distracting!

The flight home was a night flight, I was exhausted but was not able to get comfortable enough to sleep. At. All. Crying and feeling very sorry for myself ensued. Overtiredness is not fun!

There was also the cockroaches...Didn't see many, but sure wish I hadn't seen any at all.

Orlando was both my best and worst holiday for different reasons, but overall it was great. I'm looking forward to reading your best/worst holidays!